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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Nairn Suburban CC pick their preferred bypass line.

The Subbies had a large agenda again tonight at their regular monthly meeting at Nairn Academy. It was towards the end of their allotted time in the main hall that they got round to choosing which of the many lines on the map they wished to see become the final route for the Nairn Bypass. The Chair of the Subbies Dick Youngson said:

“We are very much against the route that comes in at Delnies and comes in so close to Lochdhu, crossing the Moss-side there and cutting tightly back in again crossing at Broadley Farmhouse and curling back in to meet the A96. It really doesn’t allow Nairn to expand at all. It doesn’t allow for years of development in Nairn. It’s a tight one, it’s like an inner ring road like Aberdeen ended up with.”

Local resident Iain Gordon also spoke and he made a plea for Delnies wood not to be destroyed:

“When the bypass proposal came up 5 , 6, 7 years ago, I can’t actually remember when it was. There was a completely democratic process organised by the Council, through the Council. I think there was a reporter brought in. […] The Community of Nairn, round about Delnies, not just the residents there – an awful lot of people in Nairn use the Delnies woods for leisure and recreation. The word in its literal sense re-creation, it’s a place of relaxation. A lot of people use that regularly. If you drive a four lane carriageway through there you will destroy a community asset. It’s a place where a lot of people in Nairn get much pleasure and there’s a lot of wildlife in there and everyone that goes in there knows it. For that proposal to come back in just the way it was was absolutely shocking and it is a complete contravention of what was a democratic decision through the Highland Council[…] really I was quite staggered to see that. The possible destruction of the Delnies woods, I think it should be strongly resisted.

The Subbies want to see the outer route “2H” around Nairn to come back in to the existing A96 at Auchnacloich and to then follow the Auldearn bypass rather than the options that bypass the bypass. You can follow the route 2H option on pages 3 and 4 of this document here. Dick indicated there was support for this route too within the ranks of Auldearn Community Council. If Nairn’s other CCs also opt for this route then there could soon be considerable momentum for this option.

9 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I have always wanted to see a Nairn by-pass, because the reduction in through traffic would improve the town and make it an even more enjoyable place to live and work. Now that I see that this could be at the expense of Moss-side and Delnies Wood I'm not so sure.

The very idea they would carve through Delnies wood is horrific and shows a total disregard for the community, it would dammage tourism byI making Delnes caravan site untenable due zto noiwe...I am hoping this option was merely a cunning ploy to galvanise support for the gravelpit route

I think any comments that the Auldearn Community Council prefer one of the options that would see the existing bypass duelled are presumptious, after all, I'm fairly sure that Suburban's boundary doesn't extend east of the A939 and as far as I'm aware Auldearn CC haven't met to discuss the matter yet.

This hybrid route mentioned( as it isn't an actual option) may seem an obvious choice, until you factor in it's potential impact on Grade One listed buildings, scheduled historic monuments, the battlefield, it's proximity to the school/community park and a greater number of houses than any other route.

If you look carefully at the new, higher definition plans available at http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/a96dualling you'll also find that, of all the options, the two that follow the existing bypass line could not have have a greater community severance impact if you'd actually sat down and tried to engineer that end.

The devil is in the detail and I don't know who well the parish of Auldearn would be served by a road scheme that resulted in people living north of the existing A96 being forced to travel 3½ miles to get to the village shop or school. which would presently be within walking distance.

Common sense could be applied to some options.The 'real' option 2H could be redrawn to clear existing properties and businesses by a much greater margin that as drawn at present.

& of course , if Suburban CC are concerned with maximising the potential for the greater Nairn area to grow , then route 2i is the obvious best choice, as not only does it do just that, it keeps Auldearn and Nairn all to one side of the bypass line.